Tech

5 Best Tablet Apps for Doodlers

The transition into a paperless world has been pretty rough on us doodlers. Until recently, the market was rife with clunky, low-functioning drawing apps that didn't exactly fulfill our inherent need to sketch.

Considering the fact that doodling during verbal exchanges has been shown to improve our attention spans and memory, an intuitive drawing app is essential to the wandering mind. Luckily, a new dawn has been ushered in for the connected doodler.

Named Apple's iPad app of the year in 2012, Paper is a highly functioning digital pad of, well, paper. The average doodler will appreciate its drawing and sketching capabilities, which can be expanded upon through multiple in-app upgrades.

Illustration by Max Knoblauch, Mashable

We love the easy manipulation of Paper's brushes and the uncomplicated toolbar. The free version only comes with one brush — a calligraphic drawing pen — making it difficult to control line sizes and fill in shapes, but it's more than adequate for the casual margin artist.

The free tablet app from Autodesk's SketchBook program, SketchBook Express is a doodling master. The intuitive UI allows for gesture-based screen manipulation and is built to replicate a natural drawing experience. Users can create images with up to six layers, and the app comes with an array of free customizable brushes.

Sketchbook Express is simple enough for a quick drawing on the go, but also offers enough customization for the serious tablet illustrator.

Made to replicate a paper notebook, this app from drawing tablet kingpin Wacom has a fun and simple sketch function. Though it offers less customization than an app like SketchBook Express, we love the combination of sketching and text input.

The app works best when coupled with a Bamboo Stylus, which allows for a realistic note-taking and doodling experience. Bamboo Paper is perfect for the old-fashioned note-taking doodler.

This app allows Adobe users to create and save vector images from a tablet onto the Creative Cloud, to be edited from anywhere with an Internet connection. Draw on up to ten layers, and easily customize your brush size and type with the user-friendly sidebar. As imperfect doodlers, we also appreciate the app's 50 levels of undo and redo.

The minimalist UI and effortless navigation make this app an extremely useful tool for those with Creative Cloud.

This paid iOS app is perfect for the social doodler. You can upload your creation to the social gallery and other users will rate it and provide feedback. Users have also provided detailed tutorials for using the app (and for complex art techniques) within the site's forums. The app itself offers above average brush manipulation, and images are easy to control, fill and shape.

Which apps do you use for doodling? Let us know in the comments below.

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is a leading source for news, information and resources for the Connected Generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world. Mashable's record 42 million unique visitors worldwide and 21 million social media followers are one of the most influential and engaged online communities. Founded in 2005, Mashable is headquartered in New York City with an office in San Francisco.